There Is Food In This Post

The above title is necessary because today’s post is actually going to be about fashion, or lack thereof depending on your opinion of what I wear. I like when bloggers share their outfits, whether dressy, casual, or workout-related, so I thought I’d do the same. But I also know most readers expect me to talk about food/fitness so I’ll just start with a quick recap of last night’s workout and dinner.

I hit the gym for Group Groove. Got there a bit late but wanted to check out all of the new songs since the new release is officially out next week. Verdict – disappointed. The new tracks are not nearly as challenging as the summer release’s! After the “peak dance” I felt like I definitely hadn’t reached a peak and still had so much energy, so I skipped the cool-down (bad, oh well) and headed to a place I haven’t been in awhile – the treadmill. I had a weird and random urge to run so I put my dependable work-out playlist on shuffle and busted out a mile at with the incline set on 2. Not a ton, but I just wanted to run something quickly to reach a peak HR and I had to get to dinner anyway! I ran the first half at 7.0 and the second half at 7.5. I felt great afterward! And my desire to run has now probably been quenched for the next several months.

My favorite restaurant was next on the agenda – J. Gilbert’s. I was meeting my foodie friends Evan and Jeff, as well as my friend/Jeff’s girlfriend, Kim. Jeff had a coupon that he was kind enough to split with us (that place is expensive). I was again bad and did not take any photos, but ordered their BBQ Salmon Salad for the first time and was not disappointed. From the menu: BBQ salmon with “baby greens, tortilla straws, smoked corn-black bean relish, ancho chile onion rings, cilantro lime vinaigrette”.

This was AWESOME. I already knew I loved their salmon but the relish and dressing were crazy good. I also asked for sides of mango salsa and pico de gallo to add to the salad. Had to make it a glorified beast! Of course the onion rings mostly took care of that – the pile of them on top of the salad must have been at least 6 inches high. I took most of them off, along with some of the tortilla straws, and plated them on the center to share with the table. Not a ring was left standing, and I enjoyed the moderate amount I left on my plate!

Moving onto the photos – collected over the past week!

Friday's work outfit (yes I get to wear jeans!)

  •  Sweater – Forever 21
  • Jeans – American Eagle
  • Shoes – Keds
  • Watch – Fossil
  • Ring – Forever 21 (I have about 6 different colors!)

Saturday morning workout

  • T-shirt – Race for the Cure 2010 5K (in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month!)
  • Hoodie – Victoria’s Secret
  • Pants – Victoria’s Secret
  • Sneakers – Adidas

Back of the hoodie – it's my favorite!

Earrings for the Renaissance Faire!

I got those at Claire’s back in high school – I still love them and wear them every year!

Sunday morning workout

  • Top – 6th grade soccer jersey! Palm City rec soccer represent!
  • Crops – Victoria’s Secret

PJ'S!!!

No joke, these are one of my favorite pairs of PJs. They are so goofy because they’re silk and they match, but I got them at a VS Semi-Annual Sale and LOVE THEM. I call them my fancy pants PJs.
And because I promised you food…
cucumber “soba” noodles, watermelon pickles, tuna crudo, aji amarilla coulis, chipotle aioli, local tomato ceviche
From a tasting I went to at J. Gilbert’s this past summer – told you it was one of my favorite places. Now you can see why!
Do you care at all about fashion posts? Do you have any fancy-pants PJs?

Weekend Wednesday

Confusing title, no? But I am super behind on posting photos, and this post on some weekend eats is occurring on a Wednesday. And I need to upload my work week photos next. Bad blogger – I’m workin’ on it.

As long as you have something to look at, right?

Nonfat amaretti cafe au lait, with a side of homework, at Daybreak Coffee.

On Saturday and Sunday morning I set up camp at Daybreak to get homework done. The owner was kind enough to let me ask for a french-pressed cafe au lait on Sunday using whatever flavor I wanted (that they already had roasted and ready to grind). I went with toasted butternut and it was out of this world. Definitely tops their pecan pie flavor. FYI a cafe au lait is just a coffee with steamed milk. At Daybreak they actually call it a blanc, and at Starbucks they call it a misto, if either of those sound more familiar.

Whole Foods salad beast

I moved my study party to Whole Foods later on Saturday afternoon and had lunch while I waited to pick my brother up from work. I could not even begin to tell you what was in this beast, but it included their broccoli/sundried tomato/kalamata olive medley that I LOVE, avocado kale salad, about five different bean salads, pineapple, edamame, artichokes, red pepper fish, falafel, and…OK that’s all I remember but that’s probably only half. This was almost a two-pounder.

Falafel tacos

After the Renaissance Faire on Saturday night, and after my fiber-rific lunch had finally digested, I was ready for dinner pretty late (about 8:30pm) and was feeling particularly lazy since I had already been parked on the couch for over an hour watching “Secret Circle”. And since my parents were out of town, aka Dad the grill man was gone, our fridge was devoid of all meat except my brother’s ham (no thanks). So I went the vegetarian route for dinner (vs. the pescatarian route for lunch) and decided to mix two food “genres” to create some Greek/Mexican magic.

Falafel, pico de gallo, tzatziki sauce in whole grain taco shells

These were SO good! And so easy to put together too – I used a boxed brand of pre-made falafel (can’t recall the name right now) and these awesome whole grain taco shells we have that are less than 200cal for two! The pico I used was the Yummy Hummy variety I got at the Coventry Farmer’s Market. It’s still SO fresh and delicious over a week later!

And since that was not nearly enough for me, I proceeded to go tzatziki-carrot crazy, because once I start with tzatziki I just cannot stop.

Sunday was another day of packed study snacks in the morning, cheese and other goodies in the afternoon, and before I knew it, it was dinnertime and I was craving some take-out. So off to Moe’s I went to get my favorite item on their menu – a burrito “streaker”. Moe’s > Chipotle – who’s with me?!

Chicken with cucumber, cilantro, corn, olives, pico, salsa, black beans, onions, and green pepper.

After I was 75% done, I switched from fork to chips as my method-of-choice for getting this delicious pile of food into my mouth. It was a good decision. And when the bowl was gone, the chip munching continued with some more of the Yummy Hummy pico.

Those are my weekend eats photos – maybe this weekend I will post my week eats photos. No?! OK, I’ll try to be faster than that.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a weekend fashion post! These delays are getting out of hand. I should stop revealing when my photos were taken…nah.

What was the best thing you ate this past weekend? Only half a week left til the next weekend!

Autumn Leaves Cheese Festival

Did everyone survive Monday? I did, and was glad to come home after a nice elliptical/Group Power session and feast on a classic dad-grilled meal and watch the last ep of SNL. Did anyone else see it? Reviews I’ve read are hatin’ on Ben Stiller and saying he can’t top Melissa McCarthy’s AKA the original Sookie (none of this True Blood business, GG all the way!), but I actually thought her hosting job was completely lackluster and I barely laughed during her episode, whereas last night my dad and I were absolutely cracking up. And ZOOLANDER made an appearance? How can you not love it?

I also love how in last night’s class, I increased my weights during both the triceps and shoulder tracks. And I’m not dying nearly as much in the bicep track (definitely my toughest muscle group to improve in)! The day I increase the weight on that one will be an exciting day indeed, but I think I’ll make that my next Group Power mini-goal. Do you set mini-goals for yourself when you work out? I find them more fun because you usually conquer them sooner 🙂

I have been seriously slacking on both food and fashion photos, and I swear I will post them soon, but for now I’d love to recap the Autumn Leaves Cheese Festival that I ended this past Sunday at Beltane Farms.

I arrived and made a beeline for the wine tasting table (priorities, people) hosted by Priam Vineyards.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the wines were different than the ones I sampled at my first tasting there! I love how I’m expanding into whites lately too. My very favorite wine that I tried was the Salmon River Red, and the woman running the booth even gave me an extra pour. I think she could tell I would appreciate it! The wines that were being sampled were of a nice variety and no two wines I tasted were alike. That is just the way I prefer my tastings!

Next I headed to Savor, LLC of Waterbury’s table to try some of the most unique cookie flavors I’ve ever heard of! The seasonal smoked red onion contained, you guessed it, smoked red onions, which were a great contrast of flavors with the sweet, shortbread-like cookie. They were also selling lavendar and roasted leek varieties! Their website has a black olive flavor – now that I’ve gotta try. I’m an olive freak!

There was also a nutty fudge from Harbor Candy Shop in Maine out for sampling that was so tasty. Definitely not too rich like you often see with fudge.

Two thumbs up to Savor! Their packaging was adorable too – little things like that make a huge difference.

Next it was time for something salty – Appalachian Naturals sauces and spreads on tortilla chips!

Pictured above is the cilantro lime vinaigrette, which was a bit hard to sample since the oil kept sliding off the spoon before it could get onto my chip (I didn’t want to dip). Still, what I tasted was very good. I also am a cilantro freak, so anything cilantro I am bound to love. There were other dressings (ginger miso, which tasted exactly like miso soup) as well as some awesome chipotle honey mustard and a sundried tomato horseradish (definitely my favorite).

Now time for something sweet from Peace Tree Desserts! These guys are all about organic, sustainable food, as well as making what I can honestly call the best caramel sauce I have ever tasted. It’s made with goat’s milk and has a Mexican dulce de leche (founder Robyn Ead’s words) vibe to it. The particular type of caramel is called cajeta caramel and Peace Tree makes applejack, curry, rosemary, cinnamon, and lemon flavors.

Isn’t Robyn’s apron beyond cute? Her friend made it for her!

Next I spoke with a nice man, Ron Pinto of Winding Drive Jams & Jellies. I was pleased to hear that he gets a good portion of his ingredients from farms in my town! He and his wife make marmalade, jams, and jellies by hand. I sampled the Pear Eau de Vie jam (Bartlett pears and French pear brandy). It was delicious! If only it had been made with Bosc pears, my one true love…well, after pickles and cilantro and olives.

Other notable flavors I’d love to try next time I see Ron at an event: Strawberry Pinot Noir, Roasted Garlic (AH another love) & Caramelized Onion, and Mint Rosemary! I have a feeling the Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Onion could be a future purchase for use on the many meats we are always grilling.

I tried some of the best feta (seriously, I need to stop proclaiming I love things in this post, but oh how I love feta) at the booth run by Taylor Farm Cheese of Vermont.

Holy cow (see photo on the packaging) there is nothing like fresh-made cheese. After this event I am thoroughly convinced that I can never eat non-local cheese again.

Aren’t they pretty? Almost too pretty to unwrap – but too tasty NOT to. I encountered a cheese-tease when I sampled Vermont Ayr, a Crawford Family Farm creation. There was none available to buy, hence the tease comment, but I think I could have eaten an entire block. With some Ritz crackers, please and thank you.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Phyllis of Mariah’s Chow Chow Relish again! My mom and I fell in love with her Sweet & Spicy relish after I purchased some at the Coventry Farmer’s Market, and this time I sampled the Sweet & Hot. It was the perfect amount of hot, and I’m pretty sensitive to spicy foods. Phyllis was kind enough to give me a jar to take home and enjoy – thank you Phyllis! I can’t wait to open it once we finish the first jar!

Thanks Mariah’s Relish for the image!

Though I’ve already tried Beltane Farms fresh chevre (I had some of the chive flavor on my english muffin this morning in fact), I was excited to try many new varieties of chevre and other cheeses. The garlic herb chevre, paired with crackers, was awesome.

Another reason I love these types of events, besides tasting all the food and supporting the local businesses, is getting to expand my own palate! Danse de la lune (French ripened cheese with brie rind), Harvest Moon (hard, nutty cheese), and vespers (French ripened cheese) are all cheeses I never tried before and realized I love. I also sampled the ricotta, but was not a huge fan (never have been though).

Artisan Food Store of Southbury, CT helped put on this event, but they also were selling their cheeses and had a generous number of samples to hand out – I must have tried almost 10 varieties at their booth! I bought some cheese and was reminded that their next event, the CT Cheese & Wine Festival, is in just a couple of weeks – woo hoo! More cheese and wine!

I stopped by The Farmer’s Cow to pick up a free carton of fresh skim. They also were giving out apple cider (not my thing) and selling farm-fresh ice cream for just $1! Most people that came by seemed to be choosing the coffee flavor – can’t blame them.

Ladies of Lebanon (no photo – sorry!) offered me some of their chive cottage cheese. It was delicious, but I actually prefer 1% cottage cheese to the 4% because due to the lower fat content, it is easier for me to dip my veggie chips into it (veggie chips and chive cottage cheese are one of my favorite snacks). I was lucky enough to purchase their last fresh greek yogurt. I had some last night for dessert and it was very decadent, but very good. Just a little bit was enough to satisfy me!

I unintentionally saved what ended up being my favorite part of the festival for last. Rachel LaPorte, a chef and teacher at Windham Tech High School, whipped up goat cheese and swiss chard crepes for us! I know this is a sin, but I’ve never had a sweet OR savory crepe. The reason I know this is a sin is because after trying this thing, I was in disbelief. It was AMAZING! The swiss chard was sauteed and so fresh. She used only ingredients, with flour being the exception, that had come from Beltane Farm. I could taste the difference!

Now I’m craving one all over again, and it doesn’t help that I’ve been snacky all day (thank you strength training). I may try to recreate something similar to this at home, since a co-worker was kind enough to give me some swiss chard from his garden yesterday. If that isn’t fate I don’t know what is. Not sure if I could master a crepe, but maybe an omelette would be a good breakfast option for this weekend. We’ll see!

Don’t worry, that is not what I paid for that cheese!

Thank you to Artisan Foods and Beltane Farm for putting on such an awesome event!

What’s your favorite cheese? What’s the best crepe combo you’ve ever had?

Guest Bloggin’

Hey guys! Today I am guest posting over at Katie’s blog, Lil Veggie Patch, so check it out: Planning a Day of Eats in NYC!

And in case you missed it, I recapped my visit to the CT Renaissance Faire yesterday!

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I certainly did – got a lot of work done, had my favorite salmon salad and rolls at Bertucci’s, had a great Group Power class Saturday and stair master session Sunday, indulged at the Autumn Harvest Cheese Fest (post to come), and went chips-and-salsa crazy last night with some Moe’s takeout.

How was your weekend? Any good eats to share?

Hear Ye, Hear Ye…

Ha, just trying to get into the spirit as I begin this post on my experience at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire! Last night the fairgrounds were open for extended hours, until 8pm, for a Halloween Knights event. That meant extra shows (jousting, comedy, birds of prey demos, etc) and actors, er, zombies roaming the paths and accusing me of having no brains (due to the blonde hair – at least I know I’m safe from zombies now).

Gorgeous hand-crafted masks.

I actually did have a brainless moment when I realized the Groupon I had purchased for our entries was, d’oh, expired. Luckily they still honored it, but only at the value of what I actually paid for it, meaning we ended up paying full price to get in ($16 per person, a little steep, but the events were free). Still, it could’ve been worse – they could’ve not taken it all. Is “could’ve” not  a real contraction? WordPress is giving me spellcheck squiggly lines under it!

Lidia, Silvana, and I came dressed to impress. I’ve always loved witches, perhaps because of my early obsession with “Hocus Pocus”, so naturally I dressed up like one – I like to think I was channeling Sarah Jessica Parker’s character, to continue with the dumb blonde trend.

They just don't make movies like this anymore.

The resemblance is uncanny, right? Wait, when did we switch movies?

We ran into some hilarious vendors, including a pirate who attracted us to his booth by waving necklaces in our faces and singing out “shiiiiny things!” He claimed his name was Captain Crunch. I also was given a walking citation by a self-appointed sheriff, and some creepy guy had Merlin take a photo of him with us ladies. I kept seeing him slinking around later and it was a little weird!

I thought these signs at the booths were hilarious.

Lidia and I had a great time getting very into character at every opportunity.

The queen and her sorceress. What's with the leopards adorning my throne?

Sorceress turns on the queen, hey, it happens.

We didn’t really buy any crafts, since a lot of them were pretty expensive (and rightly so – a lot goes into their creation!), but the vendors were very gracious about taking photos at their booths.

Of course there was plenty of FOOD! I wasn’t hungry due to a ginormous, fibrous Whole Foods salad beast that I consumed right before our trip (pic to come…) but there was still plenty of fun food to look at, and Lidia and Silvana both did some snacking!

Oh wow Lidia…

I just HAD to show this pickle some love. I LOVE PICKLES.

Overall, the CT Renaissance Faire was a lot of fun! Not sure if I’ll go back next year due to the steep admission price, but maybe I will if my blonde brain can figure out how to use their Groupon next time.

Have you ever been to a Renaissance Faire? What’s your favorite fair food?

I was pretty impressed that this place had baked potatoes – they’re one of my obsessions, along with pickles!

Winner Winner (Not Chicken Dinner)

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! I’m so psyched for the weekend. I’m going to hit up Group Step after work, go have dinner with an old friend I haven’t seen in forever, and head home to catch up on the DVR. Ah, the life of a working girl-grandma hybrid.

I have been on a bit of a winning streak lately. Yesterday I found out that I was chosen in the lottery for Conan O’Brien’s NYC show taping tickets, so in early November I will be hitting the Big Apple to go see Conan! I am beyond excited and can’t wait to find out what guest will be on that day, though I won’t know for a couple of weeks. I’m hoping for Leonardo Dicaprio since J. Edgar starts showing at film festivals around that time. Yeah I know, dream big, but how amazing would it be to be in the same room as Leo AKA my favorite actor?

Who doesn't drop everything whenever "Titanic" comes on TV? Swoon.

I also recently won an Odwalla Bar giveaway over at Katie’s blog, and a marketing book from a Good Reads giveaway that I can’t wait to check out:

I hate to brag (but really I don’t), I’m feeling quite lucky lately, and am hoping my luck will hold out in the 50/50 raffle at work today that I just purchased 5 tickets for. Proceeds support the troops so even if I don’t win, it’s all good, but it would certainly be nice to head into the weekend with a little extra cash!

I shared my breakfast yesterday, and no need to do so again since it’s the same almost each day, except with a different kind of PB (and maybe an english muffin thrown in on weekend mornings). But today I thought I’d show some pics of my lunch and snacks, and again I most likely will not be sharing these again since my workday lunches and snacks are fairly consistent day-to-day, except my salad beast ingredients change with what we have in the fridge.

Salad beast, fruit and cottage cheese, english muffin and Laughing Cow wedge.

Just to give you an idea of what a typical lunch-size salad for me would have in it, today’s includes:

  • leftover meatloaf
  • spinach
  • banana peppers
  • both bread n’ butter and dill pickles
  • tomato
  • vidalia onion
  • red pepper
  • kalamata olives
  • sundried tomatoes
  • baby carrots
  • snow peas

Some snacks, TJ's veggie chips and a bosc pear.

To finally explain this post’s cheesy title, last night’s dinner was not chicken-related in any form. I got home from class and was absolutely ravenous. I tore through the fridge like a tornado and grabbed the best leftovers I could find. I reheated some Giovanni’s veggie pizza in the oven on low broil (mmm crispy burnt crust) and heated up the last piece of leftover filet in the microwave. It was a super tasty dinner and was followed with an ice cream sandwich.

Veggie pizza with tzatziki sauce, filet with spicy yellow mustard

Thanks to Android Headlines for the below image.

These never fail to take me back to my childhood!

Finally, yesterday was made a little bit more fun by the fact that it was not too cold out, so I could wear my fun Forever 21 leopard swing coat! It has 3/4 sleeves so the time of year I can wear it consists of a very narrow window (early fall, early spring). But whenever I do, I feel so glamorous. The inside is hot pink too – PERFECT.

Who is your favorite actor? When was the last time  you won a giveaway/raffle/lottery/etc and what did you win? Did you eat ice cream sandwiches as a kid?

Mealin’ and Movin’

I’m taking a cue from the lovely Janeetha today and blogging about some mealin’ and movin’ I’ve been doing over the last couple of days. My photos have tended to accumulate in my camera since I haven’t gotten on a good daily upload schedule, but I am getting better!

Let’s start with Monday’s dinner:

Baked potato skin with Mariah's Sweet n' Spicy Chow Chow Relish, swordfish with mango salsa, steamed broc.

Last Friday, my Whole Foods tweeted that swordfish steaks would be on sale all weekend for $9.99/lb. I texted my mom ASAP and she jumped on that deal, so that was dinner Friday night. Well she bought so much that we had tons of leftovers, so despite the fact that I felt like I was eating a gourmet meal Monday night, it was actually mostly leftovers! The swordfish was beyond perfect. I know you’re not supposed to eat more than a certain amount of it per week since it contains higher levels of mercury, but I rarely get to eat it so having swordfish every day Friday-Tuesday can’t do me too much harm – right?

And of course the Mariah’s Sweet n’ Spicy relish from the farmer’s market was awesome and has continued to be awesome.

I made the mistake of not eating breakfast before I left the house yesterday, and was starving by the time I got to work, starving, but not so starving that I was too impatient to snap a quick pic of Wednesday’s breakfast:

PB&Co Dark Chocolate Dreams and the most inappropriate looking banana I'd ever laid eyes on, seriously.

Lastly, moving on to Wednesday’s workout:

I left work a few minutes early so that I could get to one of my favorite classes, Interval Training. You can read more about it here. I felt challenged and energetic, thanks to the Thomas english muffin and Chipotle Laughing Cow wedge I had right before class,  and left with a strong, accomplished, albeit sweaty, feeling.

I know I'm lookin' pretty gross…

 

…but I was feelin' pretty damn good!

I have to brag for a second and show you my awesome sneakers. They seriously give me such a boost each time I lace them up.

Purchased from the Adidas Outlet. Wish I could've bought the lavender ones too!

And while I’m sharing workout gear, I have to say my gym bag gives me a bounce in my step too.

Vera Bradley small duffel.

Came home and rewarded myself with a feast: turkey burger, turkey sausage, sauteed onions, grilled asparagus, green beans, and 50,000 Ore Ida fries with spicy mustard. Mmmm the gym does good things to my appetite.

I woke up before my alarm this morning, which was awesome because I had time to get in a 30 minute Exercise TV Yoga Sculpt video on our cable’s free on-demand. It was my favorite kind of yoga: quick, but super challenging, so that I was out of breath and sweating by the end. Workout done, and I wasn’t even planning on having time to work out today, so that was a nice surprise!

Are you a swordfish fan? Do you have any cute gym gear that makes it more fun for you to work out?

Workout Wednesday

Sorry, no food on today’s post, seeing as it’s Wednesday and workout starts with a W, I thought I’d put a fun little alliteration together and do a post on my favorite workouts. I almost always get my activity in the form of a group fitness class. I think they’re a great way to increase motivation (I always want to work harder than my neighbor) and challenge myself, as well as learn new plyometric and weight training moves for specific body parts.

I live in workout clothes so I can eat entire snack tables.

I try to switch up the classes I take to keep my body guessing and my mind interested in working out. I’ll go through phases, but try to go with the flow, because if I force myself to do a class just because I feel like I should be doing that type of class instead of another, I’ll just grow to hate the gym. For example I was the queen of spin as a junior, but haven’t really done any spinning at all in a little over a year and am fine with that, because I  just got sick of it and still haven’t wanted to get back to it. And if I do want to someday, I definitely will head back to spin class.

Let's get physical?

My gym uses a lot of classes by Body Training Systems, which is very similar to Les Mills for you bloggers that haven’t heard of them. A lot of the classes are virtually the same and offer a great workout with a nice variety. I do know of one blogger that I have been following for quite awhile, Heather, who teaches BTS classes. Any others out there who are certified to teach a BTS class?

Group Power: I did this one on Monday. This has the exact same set-up as Body Pump – a song for each muscle group, with weight-lifting moves choreographed to the music, using a bar and plates. I always leave Power feeling so strong and accomplished! In fact, my hamstrings are still sore right now, just two days later. No matter how much I try, I never seem to get as good of a strength training workout on my own as I do with this class. I love feelin the burn!

The songs in Power go like this:

  1. Warm-Up
  2. Legs (usually all squats with the bar)
  3. Chest (some combo of presses, flies, and push-ups)
  4. Back/Legs (some combo of dead-lifts, dead-rows, clean-and-presses, and sometimes flies)
  5. Triceps (some combo of tri push-ups, kickbacks, overhead extensions, and presses)
  6. Biceps (curls, occasionally a bicep row is  thrown in there)
  7. Legs (some combo of different types of lunges, and sometimes sumo squats)
  8. Shoulders (some combo of split raises, presses, upright rows, rear delt t’s, arnold presses, and more)
  9. Abs (lots of different possibilities here)
  10. Strech

So as you can see there are plenty of varying exercises to keep your body guessing and keep your interest peaked!

Group Step: Think your traditional step classes, but each song has its own focus, and is choreographed. So if I keep going to Step each week, I get better and better at the routine and can put more into it each time. I love dancing and this kind of reminds me of that!

Just like Power, the order of the song focuses does not change, but the songs in each release do along with the steps!

  1. Step Start (warm-up)
  2. Step Ahead (cardio-focused)
  3. Step Up (cardio-focused, usually involving lots of knee lifts)
  4. Step Strong (leg workout, squats and lunges)
  5. Step Energy (top speed)
  6. Step Agility (balance worked in somehow, usually involves running and high knees)
  7. Step Motion (lowers heart rate before the finale, often involves dance-like moves like mambo, cha-cha, etc)
  8. Step Attack (peak heart rate, think a combo of Step Strong and Step Energy)
  9. Step Symmetry (abs and/or push-ups)
  10. Step Down (stretch)

Group Groove: For all you Zumba fans out there, you’d really enjoy this class! This is purely a dance class, but it’s a great workout all the same – in fact, I’m attending tonight! Just like Step, it gets really fun once you’ve gone enough times and have the routine down pat because then you can put more effort into getting really into the moves and getting the best workout possible. Some of the moves are cheesy (the last release did involve a moment or two of air guitar…) but it’s easy to sub-in your own momentary move if you feel too silly (for example, I do dynamic lunges during the air guitar portion).

Groove songs go a little something like this:

  1. Warm Up
  2. First Dance (just to get you into the dance mode, a fairly easy routine)
  3. Party Dance (usually a Latin song, involving lots of cha-cha-cha)
  4. Cardio 1
  5. Low Dance (legs focused, most of dance done in low-stance, usually something urban)
  6. Cardio 2
  7. Break Dance (get heart rate down before peak, slower, often ethnic in some way)
  8. Peak Dance (two-song mash-up, learn the moves in first song and go all out with them in second, peak HR)
  9. Last Dance (cool-down)

Group Kick: This class is what I like to call a kickboxing-dance hybrid. I would throw the dance thing in there because it is choreographed. Instead of punching and kicking bags you are punching air, but you can still get a great workout in. Kick typically involves lots of jumping and fast-feet. I always forget how much it works your shoulders – mine are usually surprisingly sore the day after! There are little cardio drills spaced throughout, at the end of random songs, that can really kick your butt and put a nice interval spin on the workout.

I don’t get to go to Kick nearly as much as I’d like to anymore because the classes are either on nights I have school or are too late in the day on weekends for me (I like my 8am and 9am classes on Saturdays/Sundays). But whenever I do I am always surprised at how sore my shoulders and legs are the next day!

Pre-gaming the gym with Jif.

Unfortunately my gym doesn’t offer any other BTS classes, but there are plenty of other things I like to do there:

  • Interval Training: This class kicks my butt every time – it’s 3 minutes of intervals alternating with 3 minutes of weights. Each weight interval is a different body group. So much is changing that you don’t get bored with any one move!
  • Yoga: I haven’t gotten to a gym yoga class in awhile but when I’m stuck at home with no other workout alternative (hello snow days), I really like the P90X Yoga DVD. I am covered in sweat by the end and though 90 minutes seems long, the hardest portions of the workout are split up by nice stretching moves.
  • Pilates: Ditto on not getting to pilates in awhile, but it’s a great ab workout and also surprisingly hard on the legs. Don’t shun pilates or yoga until you try them – they are tough! I was in a pilates and yoga phase my senior year, I did each about twice a week, and loved how flexible and lean I felt.
  • Elliptical: Not a class, but when all else fails and there is no class for me to take but I want to work out, I hop on the elliptical, alternate the resistance from normal to super high, and read a magazine. Sometimes this is just all I’m in the mood for, AKA I’m not in the mood for an intense class but want to get moving, and it works for me!
What workouts do you like to do? Was there anything you tried and surprisingly loved (or hated)?

Thank you to Body Training Systems for the images in this post. I was not given any incentive to write about their programs, I just did so because I love them!

Farmer’s Market Finds

On Sunday I went to the Coventry Farmer’s Market, and was in absolute foodie HEAVEN. I entered the premises and was first confronted with an Agave cart selling tacos and burritos. Yes please! I got in line for one before realizing that, duh Caitlin, what other foodie opportunities await you here, especially when you have an Agave LivingSocial deal to use and can go there in Hartford any old time?

So I entered the rest of the market and was blown away. I got to try tons of amazing and unique samples. I had the chance to chat with vendors about their products, personally compliment them on their amazing offerings, and best of all, support them by purchasing some of the tasty treats. No, I don’t know how much money I spent, but I’d say it’s worth it for local stuff that is of a good quality that’s hard to find in the grocery stores. I must have looked pretty goofy, this chick in sweaty workout clothes and bright pink sneakers, walking alone through the muddy fields of the farmer’s market with what was probably a ginormous grin on my face, but I couldn’t help it – this place just made me smile! I highly recommend this market to any CT resident.

Oh and in case you are wondering, after I filled up on samples I ended up settling on a spinach pocket from a Yantic, CT-based Lebanese restaurant owner – soft, pillowy dough filled with spinach, lemon juice, thyme, and other spices. So good, and my cheapest option after I’d already dropped too much of the other kind of dough on the following finds:

Beltane Farms: chive goat cheese!

The guy at the Beltane Farm booth was so nice, and was kind enough to let me know about their wine and cheese tasting happening this Sunday! He let me sample this chive flavor, as well as a dill-wasabi that was out of this world, on some wheat thins. I’ve never cooked with spreadable goat cheese, only crumbled, so I’m curious – anyone got any recipes involving goat cheese in this form? It seems harder to use when you can’t crumble it on top of or into a dish!

Yummy Hummy: pico de gallo

The woman at the Yummy Hummy booth had lots of great samples. They  had already sold out of the pumpkin spice hummus unfortunately but I hope to catch it at my next visit. She sampled her hummuses (hummi?) on veggie chips which was awesome because I’m addicted to them, I buy them in bulk at TJ’s whenever I can. I tried an awesome chipotle hummus as well as a garlic hummus. The chipotle was very unique and the perfect amount of spiciness – I hope to pick some up next time. The garlic was pretty good but not interesting enough or any better than Cedar’s for me to consider getting some. But this salsa really won me over. It was so fresh and chunky, just the way I like my pico. Had to get some!

Christine's Community Kitchen: kosher dill chips!

If you don’t already know, I’m a pickle addict. I’m also a garlic addict. Imagine my delight when Christine’s Community Kitchen’s tent was sampling both pickled garlic and garlic pickles! And then…the guy in front of me bought the last jar of pickled garlic. Thanks, guy! I tried it though, and it was pretty awesome. The garlic pickles however, were meh. I couldn’t get enough garlic flavor! So I went with a jar of the classic dill chips, perfect for my daily lunchtime salad beast.

Mariah's Chow Chow Relish: sweet n' spicy!

Mariah’s Chow Chow Relish is available in four different flavors and was sampled on what looked to me like Food Should Taste Good chips. This was the first flavor I tried (the flavors go in order from sweetest to spiciest and this is the second sweetest) and I jumped on it right away as soon as the woman at the tent said that it goes great in baked potato skins. I am a baked potato addict and frequently fill my skins with salsa or pico of any kind. I tried this relish in my potato skin last night and this woman (Mariah herself?) wasn’t lying – holy crap it was wonderful! I can’t wait to see what dishes I could whip up with this relish too. Any ideas for recipes that call for a sweet n’ spicy condiment?

Capa di Roma Roasted Garlic marinara sauce

Finally, I purchased this Capa di Roma marinara sauce specifically because a) I love garlic, b) the sample of the regular marina was amazing and I knew garlic could only make it better, and c) I knew a spaghetti dish was on the menu that night at home. Their both also had samples of their balsamic vinegar, which I fell in love with, but didn’t purchase since it was a bit out of my price range at $14.

Sunday night dinner

We absolutely loved the sauce, but unfortunately the whole jar was gone after one meal! My mom mixed with with browned ground turkey and veggies, and we served it over whole wheat spaghetti. The garlic flavor was phenomenal!

Steamed broccoli, plenty garlicky too.

My favorite side dish to have with Italian dishes is broccoli! I went back for seconds of that, as well as seconds of the sauce and meat combo. This was one awesome meal – thanks to the Coventry Farmer’s Market for making it even more memorable! And for making last night’s dinner memorable too with that relish!

What’s the best find you’ve come across at a farmer’s market?

October Opportunities

Happy October! I can’t believe September is already gone. It seriously flew by! Though I love summer and being warm, I did get a little excited as I was driving to the Coventry Farmer’s Market yesterday (gonna have to post about my purchases ASAP) and saw the fall foliage creeping onto the trees, as well as signs announcing various local fall festivals and Halloween events. I love me some fall! EDIT: Right after posting this I discovered I had won two free tickets to the AppleFest that I mention in this post – is that fate or what!?

Right near my dorm!

Meghann did a post on things about October that she is looking forward to, and though mine may not be as hardcore as hers (marathon training? Umm…) I thought it sounded like a good way to get myself excited about the month ahead and give other people ideas for fun things they can do this fall at the same time!

Amazing fall beverage I had on Saturday: bourbon infused with peach, apple, and cinnamon at Rooftop120 in Glastonbury, CT.

So for those of you who want to know…what am I looking forward to about October?

1. Visiting Tennessee

Orange Nation AKA my family.

In the last weekend of this month, my family and I get to fly down to UT to see my sister and catch a football game! I’m so excited to see Hannah’s school and her dorm, and also to tailgate and attend my first UT football game since I was very young. My family is made up of some die-hard Vols fans, and despite being a UConn alum, I will always be a Vol through and through! I was just raised that way. There really is nothing like SEC football and I’m hoping the fall weather will be out in full-force for the game to add to the fun, cozy vibe of bonding over the game with my family.

Yes, that was my uncle’s 50th birthday cake.

2. Fall Festivals

Oh wow, just thinking about all the fall-like events I have lined up for this month gets me so psyched! The AppleFest in my town is always a huge deal, and like a townie nerd I seriously can’t wait. I even plan to volunteer at our church’s baked potato booth at this event, and if you didn’t know already, I’m a serious baked potato addict.

I also just recently found out about a few wine-and-cheese festivals at local farms that are reasonably priced and will be happening in the weekends to come. I am so excited to try new wines, cheeses, and more, as well as support local farms and vineyards. They’re all so reasonably priced and it’s a good idea to do a local search to find out if anything like this is happening in your area!

Corn maze in South Windsor, CT.

I’m also pretty excited to completely nerd out and check out the CT Renaissance Faire and their Halloween Knights event this weekend. I love all things Halloween and Lidia and I are planning to hit up this thing to shop, eat, and oh yeah, dress up. Yes, I ordered a costume off of WalMart.com.

Lidia and I are no strangers to nerding out when it comes to fall activities.

3. Halloween

Even though I am unfortunately past the age of trick-or-treating, and now past the age of college bar-hopping as well (I maintain my opinion that Halloween is the best weekend of college each year), I still can’t help but get excited for Halloween. I’ve already started decorating my work cubicle and bought a little ladybug outfit to wear there since the holiday falls on a Monday. This will also totally reflect how much of a grandma I am, but I’m excited to spend my first Halloween at home handing out candy. Please don’t make fun of me. I think it’ll just be fun to see the excited kids in their costumes!

There’s really nothing like a college Halloween.

I also think that it’ll get old after about 15 minutes since a) no one ever comes to our house and b) I can’t really stand kids. But we’ll see how it goes.

If a Green Man shows up on my front step, I’ll be shocked.

4. FOLIAGE.

Foliage right by my house!

There’s really not much more I can say about this. I just love fall leaves. LOVE THEM. On a sunny day there is just nothing more beautiful than driving down a road framed on either side by orange, yellow, and red leaved trees.

Driving through upstate NY.

5. School

I’m such a loser. But yes you read that right, I enjoy school and in October, we really start getting into the meat of material in courses now that we’re past the intro stuff. So yes, I am looking forward to school. Maybe not starting my ten-page paper, but at least it’s on a subject that I’m interested in (corporate ethics and marketing in the fast food industry). And with school also comes more time studying in my new favorite cafe each weekend. Their newest coffee flavor is chocolate dipped banana – what’s not to love?

What are you looking forward to most this coming month? Do you have any goals for the month that you want to share?

PS. Completely off-topic but I totally forgot to post one of my pizza creations in my pizza making post!

Broccoli and fat-free ricotta. Not the most creative of pies but certainly tasty. Those are roasted brussels on the side 🙂 favorite roasted veggie.

Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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